News Archive

UCSF scientists controlled seizures in epileptic mice with a one-time
transplantation of medial ganglionic eminence (MGE) cells, which inhibit
signaling in overactive nerve circuits, into the hippocampus, a brain
region associated with seizures, as well as with learning and memory.
Other researchers had previously used different cell types in rodent
cell transplantation experiments and failed to stop seizures.

Whitehead Institute Founding Member Rudolf Jaenisch,
who helped transform the study of genetics by creating the first
transgenic mouse in 1974, is again revolutionizing how genetically
altered animal models are created and perhaps even redefining what
species may serve as models.

Scientists have identified a gene that keeps our nerve fibers from
clogging up. Researchers in Ken Miller’s laboratory at the Oklahoma
Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) found that the unc-16 gene of the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans
encodes a gatekeeper that restricts flow of cellular organelles from
the cell body to the axon, a long, narrow extension that neurons use for
signaling. Organelles clogging the axon could interfere with neuronal
signaling or cause the axon to degenerate, leading to neurodegenerative
disorders. This research, published in the May 2013 Genetics Society of
America’s journal GENETICS, adds an unexpected twist to our understanding of trafficking within neurons.

Jackson Laboratory scientists announced Tuesday that they will use mice
as clinical stand-ins, or “avatars,” for human patients with cancerous
tumors to help test and create genetically-tailored cancer treatments.

New research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
points to a common species of bacteria as an important contributor to bacterial vaginosis, a condition linked to preterm birth and increased risk of sexually transmitted diseases.

Neuroscientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at
Houston (UTHealth) have taken a major step in their efforts to help
people with memory loss tied to brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s
disease.

When scientists began sequencing the zebrafish genome in 2001, the model
organism was a favourite of biologists studying early development of
the brain and other organs. Few others found much use for the small,
stripy fish with see-through embryos. More than a decade later, with its
genome finally unveiled today, the zebrafish (Danio rerio) has become the go-to animal for researchers studying many human diseases — as well as those investigating new treatments.

When she was head of a cardiac imaging center at UCLA, Barbara
Natterson-Horowitz was asked one day to perform echocardiography on the
failing heart of the Los Angeles Zoo’s python. As the cardiologist gazed
on an image of the snake’s one-ventricle heart, it occurred to her that
snakes might offer clues for treating children born without a septum
between their ventricles.

At that moment, she began to see a connection between the
health of humans and that of what she would call our nonhuman brethren.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013 - 15:20

Emu oil helps chemotherapy patients

The oil, which has been long used by Aborigines
to treat skin wounds, was discovered to be capable of speeding the
repair of the intestines and treating a variety of common bowel
diseases.

Researchers at Adelaide
University found the oil is an effective anti-inflammatory and can
accelerate the repair of the bowels by stimulating growth of intestinal
"crypts", which assist with absorbing food.

Up
to 60 per cent of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy receive
painful intestinal ulcers but there are currently "no effective
treatment options", the researchers said.

In a new study by scientists
at King's College London and the University of Arizona (UA) published in
Science reveals the deep similarities in how the brain regulates
behaviour in arthropods (such as flies and crabs) and vertebrates (such
as fish, mice and humans). The findings shed new light on the evolution
of the brain and behaviour and may aid understanding of disease
mechanisms underlying mental health problems.

A new study by scientists
at King's College London and the University of Arizona (UA) published in
Science reveals the deep similarities in how the brain regulates
behaviour in arthropods (such as flies and crabs) and vertebrates (such
as fish, mice and humans). The findings shed new light on the evolution
of the brain and behaviour and may aid understanding of disease
mechanisms underlying mental health problems.

A new study by scientists
at King's College London and the University of Arizona (UA) published in
Science reveals the deep similarities in how the brain regulates
behaviour in arthropods (such as flies and crabs) and vertebrates (such
as fish, mice and humans). The findings shed new light on the evolution
of the brain and behaviour and may aid understanding of disease
mechanisms underlying mental health problems.

Researchers have discovered that using two kinds of therapy in tandem
may be a knockout combo against inherited disorders that cause
blindness. While their study focused on man’s best friend, the treatment
could help restore vision in people, too.

A new genetically engineered lab rat that has the full array of brain
changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease supports the idea that
increases in a molecule called beta-amyloid in the brain causes the
disease, according to a study, published in the Journal of
Neuroscience. The study was supported by the National Institutes of
Health.

The treatment Perry's dogs received was developed by MediVet America
of Lexington, Ky., one of several companies that sell equipment and
training to veterinary clinics around the world. MediVet has more than a
thousand clinics. Participating vets have performed more than 10,000
stem cell procedures – about 7,000 of them in the past 12 months.

The need to distinguish between normal cells and tumor cells is a
feature that has been long sought for most types of cancer drugs. Tumor
antigens, unique proteins on the surface of a tumor, are potential
targets for a normal immune response against cancer. Identifying which
antigens a patient's tumor cells express is the cornerstone of
designing cancer therapy for that individual. But some of these tumor
antigens are also expressed on normal cells, inching personalized
therapy back to the original problem.

JUST add water and sperm – any romance should be provided separately. In
future, women who want to safeguard their fertility may be able to
store their eggs at home as a powder. To revive them for an attempt at
having a baby, all they would need to do is empty the sachet, add water,
fertilise with sperm and implant the embryo. The technique was demonstrated with cow eggs last month at Cryo, a conference on cold-preservation techniques for eggs, sperm and embryos held in Berlin, Germany.

A team of UC Davis scientists has found that a product resulting from a
metabolized omega-3 fatty acid helps combat cancer by cutting off the
supply of oxygen and nutrients that fuel tumor growth and spread of the
disease.

Johns Hopkins scientists say they have evidence from animal studies that
a type of central nervous system cell other than motor neurons plays a
fundamental role in the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
(ALS), a fatal degenerative disease. The discovery holds promise, they
say, for identifying new targets for interrupting the disease’s
progress.

Usually, science starts in the lab and then moves to patients. Gastric
bypass surgery has taken the opposite path. Originally offered as a
radical
treatment for severe obesity, the surgery's effects on the digestive
system and metabolism have turned out to be far more mysterious and
fascinating than
anyone expected. Now, a new study probes another of the surgery's
effects: its impact on microbes in the gut and how changing these
microscopic communities
might drive weight loss.